How to sign a PDF on an iPad

Sign a PDF with Markup

These steps follow Apple's iPad User Guide for the current iPadOS. Some versions of the guide call the plus button Add Annotation rather than Add; the steps are otherwise the same.

1. 1

   Open the PDF in Files

   Tap the PDF in Files. If it came by email or message, tap it there, or save it to Files first so the signed copy has a home.

2. 2

   Tap Add, then Add Signature

   Tap the Add button (the plus), then Add Signature. In Notes or Photos, tap Markup first, then Add in the Markup toolbar.

3. 3

   Sign with Apple Pencil or a finger

   Sign in the box. Apple Pencil gives the most natural result, but a fingertip works fine. Tap Clear to redo it, then tap Done.

4. 4

   Place it on the line

   Drag the signature onto the signature line, and drag any blue dot on its border to resize it. Tap Done to finish, then share or save the PDF.

Fill in the form first

In Apple's Preview app on iPad, open the PDF and turn on Form Fill, then tap each blue field and type, or pick your details from the bar above the keyboard. AutoFill can complete supported forms from your My Card in Contacts. Where a form has no field, tap Add and choose a text box.

When the iPad is for the customer

A lot of iPads live on counters and in work trucks for exactly this: the customer signs on the spot. Markup isn't built for it. Handing over an iPad with your files open lets the customer wander into them, and a Markup signature records nothing about who signed or when, which is what you need if a customer later says it wasn't them.

Get signatures on your iPad with SignMaster

SignMaster runs in Safari on iPad with nothing to install. The iPhone and iPad app adds a locked signing mode. Each send is an envelope: one or more documents going to one or more signers.

1. 1

   Create the envelope

   Start a new envelope and upload the PDF, or one of your templates if you send the same agreement every day.

2. 2

   Add the customer and yourself

   Add the customer by name and email, then yourself if you countersign. Set the order so they sign first.

3. 3

   Place the fields and send

   Drop signature, initials, date signed and text fields where each person needs them, then send.

4. 4

   Choose Sign in person

   Pick the customer and hand them the iPad. They accept the e-signature consent, then fill and sign each field, guided one at a time. A Pencil works on the signature box like a pen.

5. 5

   Take the iPad back

   In the app, signing mode fills the screen and only your Face ID, Touch ID or passcode ends it. If you sign next, the app takes you straight to your own signature. In Safari, you confirm the handback before your account returns.

The certificate of completion notes that the customer signed in person and who hosted, along with the time, IP address and browser. Everyone gets the signed PDF by email once the last person signs.